March 6, 2012 | March 6, 2012 | The Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas has awarded $150,000 to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) to help develop strategies for a long-range plan for dental education that would ultimately include a state College of Dentistry.

“We are certainly aware of the dental shortages in our state and are pleased that we were able to give UAMS this grant so they can work to establish an infrastructure for a College of Dentistry,” said Patrick O’Sullivan, executive director of the Blue & You Foundation .

The funding will support planning for the intellectual and physical infrastructure that will be necessary to establish such an academic program.

“This grant is important to UAMS because it provides the resources to develop a blue print for a dental education program with a College of Dentistry as our long-term goal,” said UAMS chancellor, Dan Rahn, M.D. “This comes at a critical time because as with any new academic program, there is a phase when research and planning is necessary.

In its 10 years of operation, the Blue & You Foundation has awarded nearly $14 million to 208 health improvement programs in Arkansas. Of that, UAMS has been awarded 14 grants since 2003 for a total of $1,476,699. The grants helped fund initiatives related to several Area Health Education Centers, KIDS FIRST, the College of Public Health and an Internal Medicine Resident Clinic, among others.

Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield established the Blue & You Foundation in 2001 as a charitable foundation to promote better health in Arkansas. The Blue & You Foundation awards grants annually to nonprofit or governmental organizations and programs that positively affect the health of Arkansans.